Bodetal Dee Anna
The Gorge, the Devilry
Towering above me were unforgiving razor-edged peaks gnawed by 300 million years of erosion; below me was a merciless drop into the rushing torrent of River Bode.
With the last and finest stage of Harzer-Hexen-Stieg or The Harz Witches Trail behind me, I was on my way to the Hexentanzplatz or“ Witches’ Dance Floor” overseeing the Bode Gorge.
Here, the path transformed into an intimidating and precarious rock ascent. Even the geology of this calamitous canyon seemed cruel and stern, bringing to mind devilry and Faustian myth: Ramberg granite, Knotenschiefer, bewitching slate pierced with tantalising minerals, and Hornfels – the term translating into horned stones, metamorphic rocks baked and hardened in the infernal conditions.
But if you seek blood-curdling stories, horripilation, devilry and witchcraft, then I am going to disappoint you.
For nothing is as it seems...
The Bode Gorge is the oldest nature reserve in Germany, and home to rare flora and fauna. Ravine and scree forest dominate the slopes. Cracked barks and ferns surround the steep path, across which in the spring run black and yellow Fire Salamanders.
Woodpeckers and Flycatchers are calling in the canopies of gnarled old beeches and sycamores, bringing to mind Teutonic fairy tales.
Each ledge provides a window into the deep valley and the tantalising textures of the gorge’ s silvery and copper granite walls haphazardly hewn by the chisel of time.
I have not beheld such beauty and diversity anywhere in the world. Mesmerised, I lost myself with my hand lens amongst the forest floor, until I came to my senses and realised that I still had to reach the Hexentanzplatz and climb down to my car before the darkness set.
The path grew steeper yet smoother, with fuchsia-coloured foxgloves walling me off from the drop. The summit was percolated with the warmth of the late June sun, releasing a spellbinding scent of heath and dainty white star-shaped flowers.
8 OUTDOOR FOCUS FOCUS Spring Spring 2025 2025